Meister and Hound
by AngelDancingOnAPin
Summary: AU. Maka Albarn, a meister, has used an ancient ritual of summoning, the same ritual that made her mother flee the country and her family to protect. Maka wants to find the answers to her broken home and her mother's secret past, but ends up getting far more than that; murderous Kishin, conspiracy, and a shapeshifting, obnoxious hound named Soul Eater. SoMa.


A/C: Okay, I admit, this idea is a little weird. It's sort of based off a combination of the Bartimaeus Trilogy (if any of you have read that), Demon Tamer by CoriRedde (on fanfiction), and my own weird mind. This opening is subject to change, since it isn't quite as good as it seemed in my head. But please, send me some reviews! I want to know if this is any good!

* * *

**A Meister's Duty**

**_Excerpt from page 12_**

_Ironically, a meister could not perform their duty of protecting the world from Kishin without the Kishin themselves. By summoning such a creature and binding it, the meister gains control of the Kishin and can use it as a weapon against others of its kind. Obviously this process is fraught with danger, and a meister must be extremely careful when summoning such a being. Any error will result in the creature running loose, and therefore a meister must use an established, proven spell and must be exceedingly careful in their preperations, otherwise they may cause the very problem they seek to prevent._

* * *

Maka sat cross legged in the center of the circle. Every ingredient was perfectly arranged outside the golden ring, every symbol drawn with surgical perfection in crushed ruby dust. Taking a deep breath, she began the ritual.

The language of magic began flowing from her lips in a wave of harsh, guttural sounds. The spell began coursing through her body and out, calling forth one of the crazed killing machines known as Kishin into the room.

Normally, this would be insane. But for Maka, this is what she had been training her whole life for. A chance to become a meister, to bind a Kishin to her and use it to protect humanity from its unbound brethren. Though admittedly, what Maka was planning was far, far crazier than just that.

She was using a summoning spell that might not even work.

It was a spell that Maka had never seen before, in fact she had never even heard of anything like it. Her mother had sent it to her, in a series of coded postcards, just before she had disappeared. There had been another message too, simple and to the point.

_Don't blame your father. It's was my fault our marriage ended, because this had to be hidden. And that was more important to me than either of you._

Later, they had found her body.

The magic built into a crescendo, sounding almost musical. The words tumbled from her lips, too far along to stop if she wanted to.

But in the circle opposite her, a shape had begun to form, and Maka felt her heart accelerate. Maybe she would finally understand...

Bone white mists and crackling red energy swirled together, forming a vague outline of a massive hound. Slowly, the form resolved, congealing and thickening. It was definitely a dog, absolutely huge, with a thick shaggy body and a short stub of a tail. Its eyes glowed a bright, ruby red, and its coat was a pure snowy white.

Finally, the words stopped, and Maka sagged forward. But she remained alert. If the spell had failed, if the creature was going to kill her, it would do it now. Maybe she would have time to scream, to warn the others before it tore her to pieces, but that was probably out of the question.

The massive dog ambled forwards, rolling its head like it was stretching. With an almost absent growl, the golden circle keeping it caged melted into useless molten metal, trickling across the floor. The Kishin was free.

Maka screamed as the dog continued forwards, stopping outside of her circle. Any moment now, she was going to die. Maka's heart began to pound, thumping in time with her panicked gasps. Outside, she could hear Stein and the others frantically attempting to fortify the door, to stop whatever horror Maka had unleashed from continuing further. Maka braced herself for the Kishin to lunge forward and kill her.

But instead of shattering her circle and crushing her in its massive jaws, the Kishin halted outside. Curiously, it nosed the ritual objects Maka had placed to attempt to control the creature. The ruby dust, a faint imitation of the creatures eyes, was ignored, as were the wide assortment of knives. But the piano keys...

With an almost awed look in its strange eyes, the Kishin began tapping the antique ivory piano keys with one paw. For just a moment, Maka was astonished.

The keys, separated from an instrument of any kind, had begun to play. Its eyes closed, massive body swaying, the Kishin was tapping out a melody. It was a dark, eerie song, played mostly in D Minor, and it thrummed and boomed through the tiny room like they were in a concert hall. But quickly its massive paws fumbled, and the song dissolved into a rumble of deep notes. With an irritated snort, it turned its attention back to Maka.

She stood up, since there wasn't any point in trying to continue the ritual. She had failed, the Kishin was loose, and completely out of her control. Maka bowed her head, shaking with tears. Odd reaction aside, the Kishin was going to tear her apart. She watched it back up, tensing like a coiled spring in the tiny room. Then it leapt, breaking through her circle like it was made of paper, the ritual objects scattering like leaves in a tornado.

A good four hundred pounds of monstrous dog slammed into Maka, throwing her to the hard concrete floor. The Kishin bent its massive head over her, opening its jaws wide. Maka could see shark like, razor edged teeth slowly coming nearer to her face as a wave of hot breath washed out of the things mouth.

Then it licked her.

A big, slobbery pink tongue washed over her face, and Maka spluttered.

"Ack! Gross! Stop it! Off!" She was too surprised to realize what she was talking to, how easily the Kishin could have torn her head off. But it had gotten its drool all over her face, and Maka Albarn was not going to stand for that.

With another growl, this one distinctly amused, the hound got off. Maka levered herself back into a sitting position, staring in wonder.

This went against everything anyone knew about Kishin. They were the enemy, the reason humanity lived in fear behind massive walls. Because outside was where the monsters were. Yet this one showed absolutely no intention of hurting her. In fact, it seemed to be joking around. Maka rose and went to the door.

"Stein?" She called, hoping they hadn't evacuated the building. "Stein it's okay! I just got a little..." She stared at the huge dog, which definitely seemed to be grinning at her. "Startled." Maka finished lamely. How was she going to explain this one...

"Hmm." Came the deep voice of the professor. "Keep in mind if you are, in fact, the Kishin, using Ms. Albarn's voice, I am going to cut you to pieces. It would be fascinating to find a Kishin that could mimic a human, and the opportunity to dissect such a being simply could not be missed..." But Maka heard the huge steel bolts being retracted, and the door opened. Professor Stein, along with Marie, Sid, the other students, and a host of bound Kishin were waiting outside.

In unison, the other monstrosities snarled and bared whatever weapons they had at Maka's new pet as she led it out in the open.

"Oh Maka I was so worried!" Marie exclaimed, rushing forward to give Maka a bone crushing hug. The senior meister gave her Kishin a glare. "Mjolnir, stop that! Don't be so grouchy!" A giant, humanoid shape made of blackened metal rumbled like a giant rusty door, but it calmed down. Slowly, the student meisters managed to get their Kishin under control, and the unnatural growls stopped.

"I'm really fine Marie! But I need to talk to Stein. Alone, please." Maka managed to gasp. Marie let go.

"Okay, everyone. Crisis over. Out." Sid rumbled, his Kishin Naigus trailing after him. The other students, shepherded by Marie and Sid, left Maka and Stein alone in the classroom.

"What do you need. I have things to be doing. After all, I'm a busy man and I have better things to do than hear some meaningless explanation or complaint. You have your Kishin, so leave." Stein asked disinterestedly, puffing on a cigarette.

"We may have a small problem with that..."

* * *

A very long explanation later, Maka had a large collection of confiscated scalpels. However, Stein and her Kishin weren't trying to kill eachother, so that was some progress at least.

"Very well Maka. I can postpone dissecting your... fascinating specimen until later." He eyes the creature. "But someday, we will become... acquainted."

"That's... very nice." Maka replied hesitantly. "So, am I keeping it?"

Stein steepled his fingers. "My current theory is that for some reason you cannot detect your control over the creature. Therefore, yes, if you demonstrate one thing for me."

"Okay?"

"Make it do something. Anything, really. I merely require proof that it did, in fact, get off you due to your command, and not merely out of random chance." Somehow the Professor had acquired another scalpel, and was twirling it in his fingers. The meaning was clear. Fail, and he would kill the Kishin, and then likely carve steaks out of Maka's hide.

The girl took a deep breath. Then she got an idea. "One moment, Professor, I'll be right back!" Maka hurried back into the room, grabbed the piano keys, and arranged them on the floor in front of the Kishin. "Play." She commanded.

The same, beautiful, haunting tune echoed throughout the room as the dog obeyed.

* * *

When Maka got to her apartment, she immediately went to the pantry, grabbed a box of chocolates, and flopped down on the couch. Today had been... stressful. As she popped one of the delicious candies in her mouth, Maka regarded her Kishin. It was sniffing around her apartment, carefully, methodically investigating each and every corner of its new home.

"Ack! Close the fridge!" Maka yelled as it managed to wrestle the door open. The dog gave her an irritated look, but it nosed the door shut again. However, it remained patiently seated, staring expectantly. "Fine, fine." Maka grumbled. "I'll get you something." She started looking through the contents. "I have steak... pork chops... salmon..." The Kishin stuck its head in at the mention of salmon, forcing Maka to the side. She stared in shock.

"Do you..." The girl started. This went against everything known about Kishin. They were thinking creatures, yes, but instinctual. They didn't understand language, only the intent of a meister that they were bound to. And they definitely didn't have a favorite food. Other than people... Maka shivered at that thought.

"Did you understand me?" She asked quietly. The dog nodded, giving her a funny look. Then it went back to staring at the package of fish.

* * *

In a daze, Maka watched the Kishin eat. She had gotten out a notepad, intending to record observations. But she was just too out of it. It had actually... understood her.

What had her mother been hiding?

With one last delighted munch, the dog finished its meal. Then it padded up to Maka, cocked its head, and changed.

Maka stared as it shifted and flowed, like it had when it had been summoned, the shape of the hound disappeared. White mist and crackling red lightning twisted and writhed, climbing higher into a swirling column. Then abruptly, it melted away, leaving behind...

"Hello, Maka. The name's Soul Eater." A handsome guy with the same white hair and red eyes smirked at her. "Thanks for the salmon. Now let's... talk." He grinned, tanned face parting to reveal a smaller version of the dogs shark toothed smile.

"Put. On. Pants!" Maka replied with no small amount of horror.

* * *

A/C: And we have Soul! (Cue fangirl squeal. Nobody heard that.) But I got soooooo many ideas for this story... so keep me writing! I'll get bored if people don't say nice things (yes I'm a terrible review whore. Sue me. Actually don't... I'm totally broke...) so if you enjoyed it, let me know dangit! Also, just randomly, I sort of imagine Soul as a Central Asian Sheep Dog. Wikipedia it, they're Russian and gigantic. Seriously, they have the nickname "Wolf Crusher" in their native country. Even the Russians think this dog is hardcore.


End file.
